The History of Hurricane KatrinaOn August 29, 2005, the third largest and most powerful hurricane ever recorded in American history struck the Gulf Coast at eight o'clock in the morning. The interaction between a tropical depression and a tropical wave created a tropical storm later called Hurricane Katrina (FAQS, 2013). Forming over the Bahamas, Hurricane Katrina gradually strengthened as it approached the Gulf of Mexico. Recorded on August 28, 2005, Katrina grew from a category three storm to a category five storm with maximum sustained winds of up to 160 miles per hour. Although other hurricanes, such as Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Wilma, surpassed Katrina, this dominant storm was ranked as the fourth most intense hurricane based on its pressure capacity. Once Hurricane Katrina made landfall, it was considered a slow-moving category four storm. While people thought the slowness of this storm avoided trauma, records show that Katrina caused more damage than any fast-moving storm ever could have done (Solanki, 2013). Katrina produced abundant debris. The debris was in such great quantity that if it were piled on a football field, the rubble would reach an altitude of ten and a half miles. Katrina's size also affected 90,000 square miles. Once declared a category three storm, Hurricane Katrina slowed to a speed of 155 miles per hour. At that time, Katrina turned out to be the sixth most powerful hurricane in history. (Solanki, 2013). Many aspects of life were affected by Hurricane Katrina, such as the availability of gasoline, economic problems, and the ability to have an adequate supply of drinking water (Solanki, 2013). Hurricane Katrina was a big storm...... middle of paper...... just 25). The economic impact of Katrina: one year later. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=2348619Plyer, Allison (August 28, 2013). Made for functionality. . Retrieved from http://www.gnocdc.org/Factsforfeatures/HurricaneKatrinaRecovery/Shah, Anup (November 13, 2005). Hurricane Katrina. Global problems. Retrieved from mhtml:file://F:Hurricane Katrina—Global Issues. mhtSolanki, Parul (January 29, 2013). Hurricane Katrina: facts and information. Buzzle.com. Retrieved from www.buzzle.com/articles/hurricane-katrina-facts-and-information.htmlThomas, C., Hilton, H., Sieger, M., Gajilan, A., Burger, TJ, Roston, E. and Walker , D. (2005). New Orleans is worse than you think. Time, 166(22), 30. Waple, Ann (December 29, 2005). “Hurricane Katrina.” NOAA National Climate Data Center, Asheville, North Carolina.